Your mouth and teeth

Radiotherapy to your mouth can cause

Soreness
Dryness
Taste changes
Problems with your teeth
Soreness only lasts while you are having treatment and for a couple of weeks
afterwards if your mouth needs to heal.

Tooth problems, dryness and taste changes are more likely to be long term
problems.
Sore mouth
The cells lining your mouth are sensitive to radiation.  So radiotherapy to
your mouth is likely to make it sore.  You may find that

Highly flavoured or spiced foods
Strong alcohol
Tobacco
are too strong for you to cope with.  You may have to eat a bland diet for a
while.  You may also find that a soft diet is easier to cope with.  Dry
foods can be particularly irritant.  Foods like French bread, for example,
might be too scratchy for a sore mouth.  You may also find that hot foods or
drinks are too much.  Try eating your food when it is just warm.

A dry sore mouth is more prone to infection, so your doctor or nurse may
give you mouthwashes and a mouth care routine to follow.  This is to help
keep your mouth healthy during your treatment.  You may not feel like doing
it every day, but you really should try to keep it up.

Suggestion
It's best to use a small soft toothbrush to clean your teeth. And you may
need to clean them more than twice a day.
Sometimes the skin inside the mouth can break down during radiotherapy.  If
this happens to you, you will be given painkillers to help you cope with it.
You may need to have a fine feeding tube into your nose if your mouth is
very sore as you won't want to eat or drink.

Dry mouth

Your treatment may affect the glands which produce saliva.  You may produce
less or no saliva. It can be uncomfortable to chew or swallow.

It can take a long time (6 months or more) for saliva production to return
to normal after treatment and unfortunately if treatment is directed to the
salivary glands, you may have a permanently dry mouth.

If you have a severely dry mouth, ask your radiotherapist whether artificial
saliva might help you. There are also some medicines which can stimulate
saliva production.

The treatment may also make it easier for infections of the mouth, such as
'thrush', to develop.
Taste
Your taste buds may also be affected. You may notice changes in the way your
food tastes. Some people say their food has a 'metallic' taste. Others
complain that all foods taste the same.

There are some tips on making food more tasty, but you may have to leave
these until after your mouth has recovered from the treatment and is not
sore any more.

You could try using more herbs and spices to flavour your food, as well as
using strong tasting sauces like sweet and sour. Sharp tasting foods like
fresh fruit and sharp boiled sweets can be refreshing (but only after your
mouth has healed!). The section Chemotherapy Side Effects: Your Mouth has
more information on coping with taste changes.

The radiotherapy staff can arrange for you to talk to a hospital dietitian
for advice on overcoming taste changes.
Tooth decay
Radiotherapy to your mouth can make you more likely to get tooth decay.
You'll need to go for check-ups at the dentist more often. 'Fluoride'
treatment may help to protect your teeth. This can be in the form of a
mouthwash you use twice a day. Sometimes it is necessary to have some teeth
removed before you start your treatment. Your radiotherapist may refer you
for dental treatment before your radiotherapy.
Remember - tell your dentist that you have had radiotherapy to your mouth
before you have any dental work.
http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=3581
http://www.cancerlinksusa.com/radiation.htm
Loads of help is out there.  let me know if you need more help

auntie_biotic
http://www.tbandu.co.uk

How long since the RT finished